Spotted, Huntsman flees China rally

Jon Huntsman was caught on tape at an anti-government protest in China—and quickly left the scene after someone in the crowd noticed the U.S. ambassador's presence and accused him of wanting to see chaos in the country.

Huntsman, who will resign as U.S. ambassador to China on April 30 and who is considering a bid for the Republican nomination in 2012, was with members of his family in a crowd gathered outside a McDonald's in a busy Beijing shopping district in a demonstration designed to coincide with pro-democracy protests sweeping the Arab world.

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"Hey Mr. Ambassador, what are you doing here?" a member of the crowd asked upon recognizing him, according to a video posted by the China-based blog Shanghiist.

The video is a propaganda-style clip that has been circulating on nationalistic, pro-Chinese government websites and forums.

"I'm just here to look around," said Huntsman, a Mandarin speaker, according to Shanghiist's translation of the video.

"You want to see chaos in China," the man said.

"No, I don't," Huntsman answered.

A U.S. Embassy spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that Huntsman was passing by on his way to a museum near Tiananmen Square with his family. The embassy told the Journal he wanted to see what was going on, and circled back later that day to see if it was still ongoing.

The anti-government gathering was part of a loosely organized protest movement dubbed the “Jasmine Revolution” and linked to pro-democracy protests in the Middle East.

While many generic references to the Jasmine Revolution have been censored in China by the Chinese government, the photos of Huntsman and accounts of his presence have been allowed to circulate, according to the Journal.